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Free Press Staff Writer

This year's winners of the Shelburne Orchards apple pie contest are, from left, Rachel Winer of Winooski for best filling; Lisa Patnode of Winooski for best appearance and best overall pie; and Andy Montroll of Burlington for best crust. (Courtesy photo)

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This happened Sunday afternoon, when I was one of three judges at Shelburne Orchards annual apple pie contest. In about 27 minutes I sampled 27 apple pies, with co-judges Gesine Bullock-Prado and Jen Smith. Bullock-Prado is a pastry chef and author who lives in Quechee. Smith, also a baker, runs the Nomadic Oven bakery in Burlington.

Judging the pies is serious business, orchard owner Nick Cowles told us. We were instructed to look for “the quintessential piece of pie.”

“Apple pies represent everything good in the world,” Cowles said. “I think there’s peace in the world when there’s a pie in the oven.”

One of the great challenges of our task was getting a forkful of pie, from a paper plate held aloft by volunteer Alicia Taylor, without knocking the whole thing to the ground. After pie No. 19 or so, I excused myself and used my fingers - a tactic I returned to a few times. (I’m not a baker, just an uncouth newspaper person.)

Eating (and judging) apple pies is a visceral and subjective activity: Either you like it or you don’t. With this credo in mind, the three of us formed a fast and reliable pace — bite/eat/score/bite/eat/score. The rhythm was broken only by occasional sips of water and the time it took to get the pie on our forks.

All the while, crowds of people are watching us — many of them bakers hoping for a win.

We scored the pies in three categories: appearance, filling and crust. A winner was named in each of the categories, in addition to an overall victor.

Lisa Patnode of Winooski won the grand prize and top appearance. Andy Montroll of Burlington won for best crust and Rachel Winer of Winooski took first place for filling.

I talked to Patnode by telephone the day after her win. When I reached her, she was baking moon pies, using leftover pie dough, with her daughter Sloane, 6.

Patnode, 49, won the contest three years ago. She said she’s a traditionalist when it comes to apple pies. She believes simple is best.

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“It’s super basic,” Patnode said of her recipe.

She has no interest in “fancy ingredients” and sticks with McIntosh apples. She and Sloane picked apples for the pie at Shelburne Orchards, Patnode said.

“I do have a secret ingredient which I won’t disclose,” Patnode said. But the basics are: spices, sugar, a little bit of flour for a thickener.

Both times she won the contest, Patnode experienced oven trouble, she said. Three years ago, the calibration was off by about 50 degrees, on the cool side, and the pies were crunchy after an hour of baking, she said. (Patnode always makes two, just in case) Patnode returned to her pies to the oven for a second round of baking, she said.

Saturday, baking for Sunday’s contest, pie juice dripped to the bottom of the oven and caught on fire, Patnode said. She blew out the flames mid-bake and left the oven door open for a bit to release the smoke.

Her top crust was decorated with pie-dough maple leaves, scored and washed in egg whites and milk.

Patnode, a resources coordinator at Marathon Health, grew up in Brattleboro.

“I spent my childhood in the kitchen with my mother, baking, Patnode said. “I wanted to do the same thing with my daughter. I’m teaching her all my tricks. Some day that apple pie recipe will be hers.”

Meanwhile, she’s fielding many requests for an apple pie — and has one in mind for a special crew. “I’m going to bribe the IT people at work with one,” Patnode said.